Daily Herald the Brown
vol. cxliv, no. 19 | Wednesday, February 18, 2009 | Serving the community daily since 1891
Cafe Roba Dolce closes suddenly after eviction Penn works to contain meningitis
By Sydney Ember Senior Staf f Writer
Roba Dolce closed its doors Tuesday and its owners were notified that they were being evicted from their corner location on Thayer Street, a shocking development that left Nino DeMartino, the owner of the panini and gelato cafe, searching for answers. “Unfortunately, we have a situation where we are subleasing, and the people who are subleasing are defaulting,” DeMartino said in a telephone interview yesterday. “It just happened today, suddenly, and it was unexpected.” Students and passers-by appeared taken aback by the darkened storefront, with many people stopping to read the notice tacked onto the front entrance. The eviction notice, filed on Monday in Rhode Island’s Sixth District Court, came a mere three weeks after the cafe was granted a limited liquor license by the Providence Board of Licenses. DeMartino said he was not notified before being served with the eviction notice. He said he was hoping to negotiate “some kind of adjustment” in court allowing him to continue to operate his business while the legal aspects of the case are discussed, though he said the likelihood of a successful re-
Filling the gap: students take years off in Israel
By Ellen Cushing and Gaurie Tilak Senior Staff Writer and Higher Ed Editor
Three students at the University of Pennsylvania have been hospitalized with meningococcal infection, according to health alerts issued by the school.
HIGHER ED
opening during the proceedings was unclear. “It’s really bad what they did,” DeMar tino said, “but it’s the law.” “Hopefully, we can get resolved soon and continue to ser ve the community,” he said. Murray Gereboff, the attorney representing the landlords, New
York-based real-estate company Stonehenge Partners, Inc., in the legal proceedings, said the eviction was filed because the tenants “wouldn’t pay their rent,” owing $36,000, though he did not specify who was guilty in defaulting on payments. He said the district sheriff ser ved the execution yesterday, but “there isn’t much more that
By Etienne Ma Staf f Writer
FEATURE
Justin Coleman / Herald
The men’s basketball team lost to Penn Friday night but won its first Ivy game of the season in an upset over Princeton.
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Zipcar membership doubles after minimum age lowered
tops y- t u r v y
When Sara Glick ’10 arrived on College Hill freshman year, it was not her first time living away from home. After graduating from high school, Glick spent a year in Israel to learn more about her Jewish heritage.
News.....1-4 Higher Ed..5-6 Spor ts...7-9 Editorial..10 Opinion...11 Today........12
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Kim Perley / Herald
The Italian cafe Roba Dolce was evicted from its Thayer Street storefront on Tuesday.
By Lauren Pischel Staf f Writer
“I had been in school for 12 years, and then I was going in for another four,” Glick said. “It was good to have a break.” Many students who take socalled “gap years” choose to spend the time in Israel to explore their cultural roots, while others seek to gain a deeper connection with the countr y itself. “People that spend time in Israel feel much more connected with their Jewish identity,” said Yossi Knafo, Israel Fellow at Brown/RISD Hillel.
I know.” DeMartino’s lawyer declined to comment about the case. Before he was served the eviction notice, DeMartino, who has owned Roba Dolce since November 2007, said business had been going “okay,” especially given the current
Penn announced Thursday that two students had suffered the infection, which can cause meningitis, and announced the third case on Friday. The three students all had a “common interaction through Penn’s Greek system,” according to the Feb. 13 alert. The alert recommended preventative treatment for anyone who attended Greek-related events at Penn held since Feb. 2 and for anyone who had “prolonged contact” with those who did. Penn also canceled all “university and student-sponsored parties” for the weekend, the alert said. An e-mail to community members from Brown Health Services about
See Sports, page 7
Since Zipcar implemented changes to its program over the summer, the number of Zipcar members has almost doubled, according to the Brown Transportation Office. Last July, Zipcar lowered the minimum age for drivers from 21 to 18 and added two more cars to its fleet to raise the total number of cars on campus to seven. Zipcar is a car rental company that offers “self-ser vice access to cars 24/7,” according to its Web site. After a membership fee of $30 a year, members can pay for hourly or daily usage for a price that includes gas and insurance. According to Carleia Lighty, the transpor tation manager for Brown, the number of Zipcar users at Brown has increased from 472 to 790 since July, when the changes were put into effect. Roughly 60 percent of users are students, Lighty estimated, while roughly 40 percent are faculty and staff. The service is not only for those
affiliated with Brown, she noted, but for others the age minimum remains 21, and the rates are higher. The Zipcar program has “realized over 100 percent growth” in users and vehicles at Brown in the past three years, said Matt Malloy, Zipcar’s vice president of new market development. He attributed the program’s success to an “ongoing relationship” that Zipcar has with Brown. “What’s great about it is you have seven cars to pick from. If you need a car (for) just one hour, you can get one. You can’t normally rent a car like that — you gotta do 24 hours,” said Lighty. “You don’t have to deal with all the insurance and parking of the personal vehicle and just everything that goes along with having your vehicle.” For Pete Ciullo ’12, Zipcar made things easier when he went with his friends to attend a concert in Massachusetts. Ciullo has used Zipcar twice — he first used the continued on page 3
Higher Ed, 5
Sports, 7
Sports, 7
Opinions, 11
OFF THE TENURE TRACK Colleges and universities nationwide are hiring more part-time faculty
FEBRUARY FREEZE Men’s hockey extended its losing streak to seven games over the weekend
THey’re MAt good The wrestling team had a 49-0 shutout against Wagner over the weekend
SCILI PLANNING Nick Werle ’10 offers helpful hints for the SciLi’s science resource center
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